The "Toolbox"


		Cygnet Associates' Jodie Sue Kelly specializes in practical solutions to client and program performance problems in workforce development. Click on any topic below and you will be linked directly to the tip or technique. You may download or print this information and distribute it as you wish. We appreciate it if you give Cygnet Associates credit. Whom to Actively Recruit for WIA Action Steps to Prepare for New Common WIA Performance Measures Need More Customers for your WIA or TANF Program? 23 Job Development Tips 29 Job Retention Techniques How to Keep Clients Motivated During Job Search Whom to Actively Recruit for WIA Common measures for job training begin July 1, 2004. Meeting common measures will be a challenge. Earnings change is likely to be problematic. Staff may want to create a targeted recruitment campaign to bring in at least some customers who are likely to be successful. Having a cushion gives programs the flexibility to work with some of the harder to serve. Here are some examples of groups who have an increased chance of being a positive exiter and staff might want to actively recruit. Self-employed workers who weren’t very successful Dislocated workers who have lived on UI a few months Recently separated veterans Recent college graduates Public assistant recipients who are nearly job ready Part-time workers who want full time Vocational training students nearing graduation College students in the last year of their programs Non-working spouse of dislocated workers Displaced homemakers Under-employed College dropouts Youth currently attending GED classes Retirees who can’t afford to live on Social Security so want to work Out of school youth who read between 6^th and 8^th and have a high desire to earn the GED High school juniors and seniors who are likely to graduate People working under the table Recent high school, community college, college or trade school graduates Return to Toolbox Index Action Steps to Prepare for New Common WIA Performance Measures Make sure every staff person has TEGL 28-04 on their desk. Write RFP’s now that push adult and dislocated workers toward post-placement services Write RFP’s that pull youth programs away from employment and toward education as the goal. Train staff on the new measures. Develop an eligibility policy that includes orientation, suitability and eligibility. Redesign individual employment plans to mirror performance standards. Create and implement an aggressive targeted recruitment campaign so you front-load the system with participants who are likely to meet performance measures. Shift resources to post-placement services. Create a post-placement staff to work with adult and dislocated worker exiters to obtain earnings gains. Sell customers on the value of post-placement services. Have a set of services beyond “follow-up” to provide to customers. If you don’t provide anything other than “follow-up” services then the clock doesn’t stop ticking on the “90 day rule” which simply stated says that if a customer goes 90 days without any service other than follow-up, then you must exit the person. The exit date will be the last day of any service (other than follow-up). Staff need to have a menu of services that can provide. Return to Toolbox Index Need More Customers for your WIA or TANF Program? WIA has enrolled significantly fewer participants than under the old JTPA program. Many welfare (TANF) vendors also live or die based on participation. If you need more participants and don’t know where to start, use the list of questions below to evaluate your current recruitment strategy. Anything you answer as “no” is an area that needs to be improved. Troubleshooting questions: Does a written recruitment plan exits that contains monthly recruitment goals, target audience each month, medium to reach the target audience? Have fund been set aside to achieve recruitment goals? Are outreach messages focused on benefits (outcomes like earning more money) rather than on program features and services? Does the recruitment plan aim to attract at least four times more orientation attenders or applicants than available participant slots? Does the program have written materials such as current brochures, fliers, posters, letters, ads, PSA’s, etc. to use in recruitment or are they relying only on word-of-mouth and networking with other agencies? Are cost/benefit results gathered for each outreach activity and used to determine future efforts? Are customers being asked how they heard about the program so staff can measure what works? Are materials written at no higher than a sixth-grade reading level? Are sufficient numbers inquiring but are then not showing? (Phone contact is the issue) Are sufficient numbers showing but then not joining? (Orientation is the issue) Are recruits invited to an orientation to hear about benefits before being given paperwork and eligibility guidelines? Is the number of trips to join the program kept to a minimum? Is the staff who answer telephone inquires trained on sales techniques or work off a sales script? Is enough time allotted to orientation to present the necessary material and answer attender’s questions? Is orientation held frequently enough so that the waiting period to attend is no longer than five business days? Are orientations held at convenient times? Does staff who conduct orientation have pleasing personalities and make recruits comfortable? Is staff skilled public presenters? Are orientation staff knowledgeable about program services as well as other options for education, training and employment? Is the orientation motivational, uplifting and benefits oriented? Are attenders given complete written and oral information about programs and services as well as alternatives available in the community? Are attenders receiving full information about the benefits of training and /or employment (such as increased wages, steadiness of work, better life for family) as well as a description of programs and services? Return to Toolbox Index 23 Job Development Tips See and be seen! Join and participate in local Chambers of Commerce, Lions Club, Rotary, etc. Use every opportunity to job development: when you're at the store, visiting friends, at church, etc. Strive to make your first placement with an employer work out. Place your very best client, not your worst. Give extra attention. If you don't have the right client to fill a job order, tell the employer the truth. Don't send unqualified applicants or employers will stop hiring from you. Focus on employers' unsolved problems, not your agency's services. Employers are eager for solutions to high turnover, low productivity, and work ethic issues. There is no faster or cost-effective way to prepare clients for interviews than to videotape and publicly critique them. Instill the work ethic during work readiness training. Set clear behavioral and grooming standards and stick to them. Don't let clients coast. Emphasize to clients getting jobs that they should report any new openings at their companies. Create attractive, low-cost brochures with pre-printed paper from Paper Direct (1-800-APapers). Make a commitment to telemarketing. Twenty cold calls a day puts you in contact with more than 5,000 employers a year. With only a 5% success rate, you'll place 250 clients a year. Get a referral from every employer you talk with. Then follow up. Ask employers who've hired from you to provide written testimonials. Use these in brochures, letters, other materials. Be efficient. Don't mail a letter to employers, then follow up with a phone call. Employers won't remember your letter. Just phone. Ask employers to conduct mock job interviews with clients at their job site. Many will be so impressed they'll make a job offer. Many states are experimenting with temporary employment and other try-before-you-buy strategies to convince employers to hire the hard-to-serve. Keep detailed records of your job development calls so you can invest your time wisely. Two good software programs are Act! and Goldmine. As a customer service strategy, keep a list of summer job openings and pass them along to employers whose school-age children are looking for work. Have clients show up at your office dressed as they would for a job interview. An eye-opener. Allocate time wisely. Job develop only for those clients who have barriers sure to come up during the interview. Let other clients find work on their own. Always dress in business office attire when meeting with an employer. Consider sharing job leads with other social services agencies in order to maker faster, better placements. Employers want fast action and good referrals. Temporary placement agencies can be good resources for clients lacking skills or work experience. Some clients need to work part-time for many months before they're ready for the full-time world of work. On-the-job training reimbursements are a useful, if underused, tool to lure smaller employers. Return to Toolbox Index 29 Job Retention Techniques Most clients who lose jobs do so during the first 30 days. Focus post-placement help on this time period. Employers actually appreciate your assistance after placement if you can convince them it's to help reduce their turnover and improve productivity. Schedule followup at regular intervals rather than just being available. You'll be a more effective problem-solver. If a placement fails, visit the employer in person, apologize and ask for another chance. If you can, celebrate a placement publicly to put peer pressure on the client to remain on the job. Have backup plans in place for transportation and child care. Rotating shifts nearly always result in low job retention. Conduct a budget analysis to make sure the client can live on the salary offered. Make sure the employer conducts a thorough job orientation with the client so he/she feels comfortable with tasks and co-workers from day one. Before welfare recipients accept a job, explain clearly what will happen to their grant and supportive services. Identify influential people in each client's life and find out how they feel about the client taking a job. Be willing to step in at any point to do whatever is necessary to help a client keep a job. Ask clients specific questions about their jobs, supervisors, home lives, etc., not just How are things going? Studies show that moral support and encouragement are the services clients value most. Replicate Connecticut's mentoring program, which matches successful former welfare recipients with those just entering the work world. When clients lose their jobs, give them immediate access to job leads or other help to get back to work quickly. Place clients with little experience or major barriers only with employers you know well and will go the extra mile to ensure retention. Studies show that health care and other benefits have more of an impact on retention than wages. Get clients to sign retention contracts in which they promise to keep the job at least six months, call employers if they are going to be late and call the case manager when there are problems. Keep stressing the philosophy: A job. A better job. A career. Drop by the worksite on occasion to get a first-hand view of things. Avoid placements in jobs that normally have poor retention. Recognize and treat symptoms of depression and anxiety (which afflict up to 50% of welfare recipients) and are a major cause of poor retention. Keep detailed records of community services to which you can refer clients quickly for clothes, health care and other help. Be careful not to pressure a client too heavily to take a job he/she clearly does not want. To ferret out substance abuse, ask clients: Most employers require drug and alcohol tests. Could you pass one if it were required of you right now? If you can't, it's best to tell us so we can come up with a solution. Retention is nearly always poor in jobs where supervisors discipline workers in public. Before a client goes on an interview, ensure commitment by asking him/her to think about it 24 hours, then calling you for details on contacting the employer. Have your congressional representative send clients a congratulations letter for getting a job. Consider an incentive program. One agency gets donations from local employers (groceries, clothes, alarm clocks, etc.), then offers them as gifts to clients who stay on the job. Return to Toolbox Index How to Keep Clients Motivated During Job Search Clients with major barriers to employment often take weeks or months to find work. Even after being pumped up during work-readiness training, they may quickly lose momentum if their efforts don't succeed quickly. Here are some tips to keep clients motivated during the ups and downs of job search: The more one-on-one contact you have with clients, the more motivated they'll stay. Clients value individual support more than anything. Group job search (such as Job Club) is far more motivating than individual efforts. A team approach really helps. Be on the lookout for signs of depression and anxiety. Use the tests in Dr. Martin Seligman's excellent book, What You Can Change and What You Can't. In contact with clients, ask them how friends and family feel about the job search. If they're unsupportive, consider a group counseling session. Keep single mothers focused on their children and how a job will provide a better life over the long term. Share your own and others success stories. Publicly and privately celebrate every small success: getting an interview; being a finalist; getting a job. Post success stories on the wall for all to see. Work with clients on a budget; show them how they can make it. Be sure welfare recipients know what will happen to their grant if they do not comply with job search. Keep problems from being overwhelming by breaking them down into bite-size pieces. Return to Toolbox Index
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Cygnet Associates' Jodie Sue Kelly specializes in practical solutions to client and program performance problems in workforce development.